The Swedish warship Vasa

The Swedish warship Vasa. It sank in 1628 less than a mile into its maiden voyage and was recovered from the sea floor after 333 years almost completely intact. Now housed at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, is the world's best preserved 17th century ship.

My wife Manju and I visited Vasa Museum in 2014 when we traveled to  Stockholm. We loved this ship’s origin/history. What the picture angle doesn’t allow you to see is the massive scale of this behemoth; As a general reference, each of those figures you see carved on the ship are life sized. But the reason it sank is even more mind blowing IMO, the man who funded the build of the ship just wanted it to be as big and ornate as possible on a fast timeline so the shipbuilder simply scaled a drawing of a standard large ship commonly built and did t account for the change in the center of mass, thus the buoyancy would fail due to a toppling effect from being too heavy. Even crazier, knowing this, the ship was still designed with al of the excess carvings you see worsening the effect. By the time it was completed, it was well known it wasn’t sea-worthy and had even failed some tests but the city was just like “Poland just declared war and this thing is taking up the entire harbor so I guess just go ahead and get it out of here” and so they tried and it of course immediately was rocked by gentle wind and then capsized not even two nautical miles from the launch, sinking in the harbor and taking over 50 lives.

 

I will always love you in all seasons

 

 

 

I will always love you in all seasons,

 

Winter, summer, spring or fall,

Love is blind does not care at all,

While it sees but have no reasons.

I will always love you in all seasons!

 

My love is so gentle and so sweet.

It will Stay blossomed in its own heat.

It does not care for your decisions.

I will always love you in all seasons!

 

You’re so wonderful, you ‘re so amazing,

My soul is so restless my heart is craving,

Living without you, is not in my vision,

I will always love you in all seasons!

 

-Ashoo

 

22 Ageless Life Lessons Everyone Can Learn From Aristotle

1. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
2. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
3. “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”
4. “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”
5. “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”
6. “To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”
7. “Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”
8. “The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life – knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live.”
9. “There is no great genius without a mixture of madness.”
10. “The young are permanently in a state resembling intoxication.”
11. “We become just by performing just action, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave action.”
12. “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.”
13. “Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.”
14. “To run away from trouble is a form of cowardice and, while it is true that the suicide braves death, he does it not for some noble object but to escape some ill.”
15. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
16. “We must no more ask whether the soul and body are one than ask whether the wax and the figure impressed on it are one.”
17. “We praise a man who feels angry on the right grounds and against the right persons and also in the right manner at the right moment and for the right length of time.”
18. “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.”
19. “Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope.”
20. “What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do.”
21. “Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.”
22. “Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.”

Seize the present, Put minimum trust in tomorrow...

Horace Ode I.11

carpe diem quam minimum credula postero!

The most famous of Horace\'s odes uses agricultural metaphors to urge us to embrace the pleasures available in everyday life instead of relying on remote aspirations for the future - hence his immortal
Latin phrase or motto : carpe diem quam minimum credula postero
 
Tu ne quaesieris - scire nefas - quem mihi, quem tibi
finem di dederint, Leuconoë, nec Babylonios
temptaris numeros. ut melius, quicquid erit, pati!
seu plures hiemes, seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam,
quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare
Tyrhenum. Sapias, vina liques, et spatio brevi
spem longam reseces. dum loquimur, fugerit invida
aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero..

Translation:

Do not ask - we may not know - what end you or I
have been granted by the gods, Leuconoe, and do not try
Babylonian astrology. Better accept whatever will be!
Be it many winters Jupiter has granted, or one last winter
now making the Tyrrhenian sea spend its strength on pitted rocks,
be wise, strain your wine, and life being short,
prune back your hopes for the long term. While we speak, envious time
has flown:
Seize the present, putting as little trust as possible in tomorrow!!

 

"Eleven Hints for Life"

1. It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return.
But what is more painful is to love someone and never
find the courage to let that person know how you feel.

2. A sad thing in life is when you meet someone who
means a lot to you, only to find out in the end that it was
never meant to be and you just have to let go.

3. The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a
porch swing with, never say a word, and then walk away
feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

4. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose
it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been
missing until it arrives.

5. It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an
hour to like someone, and a day to love someone-but it
takes a lifetime to forget someone.

6. Don't go for looks, they can deceive. Don't go for wealth,
even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you
smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day
seem bright.

7. Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go,
be what you want to be. Because you have only one life and
one chance to do all the things you want to do.

8. Always put yourself in the other's shoes. If you feel that it
hurts you, it probably hurts the person too.

9. A careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word may wreck
a life. A timely word may level stress. But a loving word may
heal and bless.

10. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best
of everything they just make the most of everything that comes
along their way.

11. Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, ends with
a tear. When you were born, you were crying and everyone
around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die,
you're the one smiling and everyone around you is crying.

- Unknown

Our Life Explained....

On the first day God created the dog. God said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. I will give you a life span of twenty years." The dog said, "That's too long to be barking. Give me ten years and I'll give you back the other ten."
So God agreed.

On the second day God created the monkey. God said, "Entertain people, do monkey tricks and make them laugh. I'll give you a twenty-year life span." The monkey said, "Monkey tricks for twenty years? I don't think so. Dog gave you back ten, so that's what I'll do too, okay?"
And God agreed.

On the third day God created the cow. "You must go to the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves, and give milk to support the farmer. I will give you a life span of sixty years."
The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. Let me have twenty and I'll give back the other forty."
And God agreed again.
On the fourth day God created man. God said, "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. I'll give you twenty years."
Man said, "What? Only twenty years? Tell you what, I'll take my twenty, and the forty the cow gave back, and the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back, that makes eighty, okay?"

Okay," said God, "You've got a deal."

So that is why the first twenty years we eat, sleep, play, and enjoy ourselves; the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family; the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren; and the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

- Unknown

Gita Saar

Through this write-up I just want to share some lines of Gita Saar (Gist of our sacred Book "Sri Bhagwat Gita")  to those who do not understand Hindi:.

Whatever happened was good.

Whatever is happening is good.

Whatever shall happen will be good.

Whatever you received was here.

Whatever you give was here.

You received all from here.

You give all to here

what is yours today belonged to somebody else yesterday.

What is yours today shall belong to somebody else tomorrow.

Change is law of nature.

Benefits of Eating with Hands

The ancient tradition of eating with hands is derived from mudra (postures) practices and are widespread in many aspects within Hinduism. As we know that hands postures are used during mediation and Yoga. Even in many classical forms of dance, hand postures are important.

 

As per Vedic knowledge, our hands and feet consist of the five elements - Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. Practice of eating with hands is also mentioned in Ayurveda. As per Ayurvedic texts, each finger is an extension of one of the five elements:

• Thumb: Fire
•  Index finger: Air
• Middle finger: Heaven/ Ether
• Ring finger: Earth
• Little finger: Water

Each finger transforms food in digestive form before it passes to human digestion system. Improved digestion enhances the pleasure of eating as taste, texture and smell is felt better while having food with hands.

• The skin sends the senses to the brain about the temperature, texture of the food and this acts like a catalyst in the action of generating the necessary salivary juices.
• Eating with the hands, one can verify the temperature of the food before and it can prevent one from burning of the mouth. 
• Some people believe that hands behave as energetic cleanser when the food passes via hand to mouth. Similar kind of tradition is followed in other religion also when people eat food after placing their palms above the food.  

The logic behind it that food contains various external energies positives, negatives, pains, emotions, thoughts etc when it passes from various people like vegetable/ spice seller, cook, waiter etc. It is believed hands help cleaning all external energies so that it could not impact the human soul.


A similar pattern is found in many people coming from abroad that they feel suffocation and negative feelings when they eat through knife and fork. On the other hand, if they eat with their hands, they experience heavenly and divine feeling.


Science Behind Eating With Hands
We have some bacteria, known as normal flora, found on our skin. These bacteria are not harmful to human instead they protect us from many harmful bacteria from outside environment.
 
It is required to establish normal flora in various parts of our body like in mouth, throat, intestine, gut etc for the betterment of health.


Eating with spoon for long time can change the arrangement of normal flora. With this, the pattern of normal flora can be changed in the gut. It results reduced synchronous immunity to environmental bacterial germs.


Lets take an example, in India, when some people come from abroad after spending several years of staying there mostly suffer from acute gastroenteritis whereas the local people don't, because their normal flora and gut flora are in sync.


Karaagre Vasate Lakssmih Karamadhye Sarasvati |
Karamuule Tu Govindah Prabhaate Karadarshanam ||


i.e. At the Top of the Palm Dwell Devi Lakshmi and at the Middle of the Hand Dwell Devi Saraswati, At the Base of the Hand Dwell Sri Govinda; Therefore one should Look at one's Hands in the Early Morning and contemplate on Them. Hence, This shloka suggests that the divinity lies inside our hands.


Many things within Hindu culture seem weird and unusual but once we go deep into it, we find that a surprising and vast amount of knowledge is hidden in Vedic culture.


See more at: http://experiencehinduism.com/scientific-facts/benefits-of-eating-with-hands